Costumes, Cooking, and Crafts

BurdaStyle Magazine November 2015

Burda has definitely been on an upswing the past few months, and I think November is another solid issue. I don’t think there are any really outstanding pieces, but there is a nice mix of tailored pieces, draped knits, and fancy and casual styles for the winter season. Definitely have to give a nod to the jackets, coats, and some of the tops, and the Burda Plus section is, once again, full of covet-worthy classic pieces that will be stylish for a long time to come.

The coats and jackets are pretty awesome this month:

Love this shawl detail. I sort of want to make one in very length.

Love the long coat (left). Perfect mix of classic and modern elements.

It wouldn’t be winter without capes.

There is also a nice mix of dresses and tops for both fancy and casual occasions:

The lace dress (above left) is fabulous, and both versions of the top would be great in a winter wardrobe.

For some reason I’m thinking this top would have worked better in a July issue, but whatever.

The dresses with the puffed sleeves are a bit sweet, but the spaghetti strap version is pretty cute.

This is one of those patterns I feel like I will dismiss initially, sew later, and fall in love with.

Anyone else reminded of a recent Project Runway reject top? Except this one probably has a back.

Ok, this dress is simple, but I’m sort of in love with it. Especially in a slightly more joyful fabric? With some killer heels? That could be sewn in about 3 hours? Yeah, I’m down to try it.

This issues also has a decent selection of pants and skirts:

I feel like the navy-inspired pants come back into trend every few years or so. I think some of these might pop up around the internets.

Sort of liking the color blocked skirt – not sure how the seams would look in real life (crotch arrow, anyone?), and the other skirt is pretty basic.

The Burda Plus section is one again totally fantastic this month:

Love the coats! Super classy. I wants them.

And I’m really digging the pencil skirt variations. Classy, with just enough slit. And the drape is perfectly proportioned. I’m so making one of each of these.

The shirt/shirt dress are ok. I actually want to mix the top collar (without the neck tie) with the dress sleeves, and possibly make that in the top and dress lengths. Hmmm.

The culottes are fun – they’ve been very popular this year, and I’m really liking the shape of these. I’m also totally digging the sheath dress. Well, in a different fabric anyway.

And that’s it! Which means it is time to choose the best and worst patterns of the month. First up is Best of BS, which goes to:

Awesome lapel jacket! Burda has included this pattern in several lengths and in several fabrics. It is a style that looks quite versatile, and was styled in a lot of different ways in the magazine.

And the BWTF Award for November goes to:

Awkward twist top dress. Seriously, this is the sort of design I’m used to seeing in the summer issues, but for winter? The dress looks like it is falling off the model. And the awkward boob window isn’t too inspiring either. Not the best design.

All in all not a bad issue, but not the most exciting issue either. I really like a lot of the coats and jackets, and a lot of the Burda Plus designs as well. The rest of the issue isn’t overly exciting, but it wasn’t horribly boring either. I expect this will be something of a sleeper issue for me – I’ll probably pick out some of the tops or maybe that black dress as being perfect for some stash fabric in the future, even though I’m not overly excited by them at the moment. Definitely not as exciting as the past few months, but definitely better than some of the issues from earlier in the year. What do you all think? Is this an inspiring issue for you? Or just more of the same? What are you top and bottom picks for the month? Feel free to discuss in the comments!

Only just got my issue. I agree with you – there’s no must sew item in it but lots of patterns I might come back to later on. The pink skirt is definitely the worst item – and they picked it for the styling feature! I do like the coats and the cape.

Also is it just me or was the translation more random than usual this month? Lots of mentions of ‘breast darts’.